*This piece was originally written for and appeared in the Witness, found here*
Downing Street aide, Andrew Sabisky, resigned from his position on Monday morning after previous comments on eugenics, race and disabilities were unearthed. Upon his departure, he tweeted: “The media hysteria about my old stuff online is mad but I wanted to help the Government, not be a distraction.” Now, forgive me for my hysteria, but I’m not entirely sure I’m comfortable with the idea of white supremacist being in government, literally positioned to whisper in the ear of our country’s leader.
In a 2014 blogpost, Sabisky argued that black Americans had a lower IQ than white. This was after he had already linked intelligence with race, arguing it was “genetic in origin”. In the same year, he commented under a blogpost by Dominic Cummings, wanting to introduce compulsory contraception to prevent the creation of a “permanent underclass”.
What’s more, in a now-deleted Tweet in 2009, he wrote “women’s sport is more comparable to the Paralympics than it is to men’s”. Flippantly, in an interview with Schools Week, he maintained that benefits of drugs for narcolepsy –which have been proven to be very dangerous and even fatal– are “probably worth a dead kid once a year”.
This is just a brief recap of some of the most offensive pieces that Sabisky has said (the full list can be found here), but I’m sure that if you scoured the entire internet, more and more would reveal itself.
That Sabisky is human trash is a given, but how was he able to slip in between the cracks, right into No 10?
The self-proclaimed superforecaster was hired part of Dominic Cummings’ drive to bring “misfits and weirdos” into government. Clearly, this programme worked a little too well. No 10 is now under pressure to admit whether Sabisky was adequately vetted or not, placing Johnson firmly between a rock and a hard place.
A senior government source admitted to The Times that Sabisky had attended meetings with the PM on his first day on the job and also took part in a briefing with defence officials. The source acknowledged that it was more than likely that confidential information was discussed. I’m not sure which disturbs me more; the idea that a random guy was allowed access to highly sensitive information or the idea that they properly vetted him, and either didn’t find his comments. Worse, even would be that they found them and were okay with them.
The latter seems to be more believable after Cummings dismissed “political pundits who don’t know what they’re talking about” in response to calls to overhaul the government’s hiring system. You’re right, Dominic, I don’t know what I’m talking about, silly me for denouncing racism.
Even Johnson hasn’t been able to denounce Sabisky’s comments. When Johnson’s spokesman was asked whether the PM agreed that intelligence was linked to race, he answered: “The prime minister’s views on a range of subjects are well publicised and documented’.
In comparison, other ministers have been quick to condemn Sabisky and Johnson’s handling of the situation. Business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said that the hiring process for Downing Street needs to be “looked at” and that his posts were “racist, offensive and objectionable”.
Likewise, Nicola Sturgeon tweeted:“These are really not acceptable headlines for any government to be generating (or allowing to be generated). They need to get a grip fast and demonstrate some basic but fundamental values in the terms of our public debate.”
To me, Johnson’s silence plus the fact that Sabisky resigned, not sacked, says all I need to know. Johnson legitimises such beliefs through his failure to condemn them. Faiza Shaheen, economist and former Labour candidate, said that Johnson’s silence acted as a signal to the country that he’s for white people. She supplemented this with the fact that less women were in cabinet after his reshuffle, highlighting that he was not concerned with diversity.
He, Cummings and Sabisky all share believe in the survival of the fittest. And with Johnson being a serial misogynist, racist and elitist who sees black people as “pincanninies” with “watermelon smiles” or Muslim women as “letterboxes”, it’s pretty clear who the ‘fittest’ are.
This comes at a time where, only yesterday British rapper, Dave performed his single ‘Black’ with amended lyrics. The added lyrics accused Johnson of being “a real racist”, which were instantly dismissed by Priti Patel as false. Nevertheless, Johnson cannot seem to be able to get away from the ‘race debate’. Maybe it has something to do with the long list of racist things he says? Regardless, this scandal coincides with the release of our government’s new immigration point system, sparking the questions of how racially charged such policies are.
Either way, irrespective of your personal politics, I think we can all feel relieved at the resignation of Sabisky and outraged that he was there in the first place.